How a Logo Can Make or Break Your Startup

When starting a company, you have to begin from scratch. This includes a long list of to-dos, with designing a logo being right on top.

You must be wondering, is a logo really necessary?, or maybe you’ve always been curious of whether a logo can really affect the flow of your business. The truth is, logos are more important than how most people perceive it to be. Although a logo isn’t fully responsible for the success of your business, it still plays a significant role in its performance.

For instance, before we decide on purchasing an item, we take a look at its company logo to know whether or not the item is made by a company that we’re familiar with. It’s not so much that we’re being picky with our purchases, but in most cases, companies that have successfully established themselves in the market are more trustworthy than those who have not.

Bear in mind, as a startup, being new to the scene means you’re out of everyone’s radar. You have to take advantage of every opportunity to market your business, and that includes how you choose to design your logo.

The Role of Your Logo in Business Performance

When you look at a logo, what do you see? Some people would think that logos are merely pictures companies use as a design to make themselves look good. If that was the case, then we could use clip arts and doodles as logos too, right?

In reality, creating a logo is more than just trying to make your company look good, as most logo designs are crafted with meaning. This could be anything from the values the organization possesses or the message they wish to relay to their audience.

Logos, often considered as marks or symbols, might as well be the biggest identifying trait for any business. Because of this, it’s important for entrepreneurs to be familiar with how a logo can affect the performance of their business.

Customer Perception

All logos are unique, otherwise designers could face some serious legal woes if not. A logo is seen as a signature that represents a company or an organization as a whole, leaving a lasting impression to your prospective customers. Like when we meet a person for the first time, we can’t help but judge the person based on what we see.

So if a logo doesn’t fulfill its purpose, then we would automatically think that the product or service isn’t good, either. But keep in mind, first impressions don’t always last. Even with a captivating logo in hand, your business will not prosper unless you focus on building your brand as well.

Developing Trust

Following closely behind customer perception, comes the development of trust. Some logo designs can be very generic, especially if they’re directly copied from a source or inspired by one-time design trends, which tend to fizzle out after a year or so.

Thus, this can create a poor perception for your brand, making it difficult to build trust between you and your customers.

To help establish credibility for your brand, you must learn how to connect with your audience through your logo’s design. Think of it this way, your logo serves as the foundation for the bridge that links you with your customers.

A good logo should be made for your audience, employees and customers alike, to communicate with them in a simple and appealing way. This will help you efficiently and effectively promote your company’s values through the use of a well-made vector design.

Creating Loyalty

When there is trust, there is loyalty. Even with a wide variety of options to choose from in the market, customers tend to go back to companies that they’re familiar with. That’s because when you trust a company, you know that the products or services they offer are good, even if you haven’t tried it yet.

Customer perception, trust, and loyalty, all create a domino effect towards your company’s performance. For startup businesses, it’s important to take note of how a logo can potentially influence your brand in the market it is in.

Elements of a Good Logo Design

Now that we’re familiar with the significance of designing a logo, it’s time that we ask ourselves, what exactly makes a “good” logo, anyway?

1. Visually Attractive

Venturing towards the world of business can be challenging, especially when you’re trying to make a logo. Since it’s natural for us to be drawn to anything visually appealing, a beautiful modern logo (or even vintage) can easily stand out. Not only should a logo be aesthetically pleasing to the human eye, but it must also bear a distinctive design. You have to think about colors, shapes, and typefaces, while still crafting a design that reflects your business as a whole.

2. Memorable

These days, people find entertainment in games that involve guessing the name of a brand by simply looking at its logo. And once the majority can guess it correctly without much thought, then you know you’ve made it. A logo is considered to be effective once a person can immediately associate a product or service with its logo.

3. Simple

Simplicity doesn’t constitute to being boring when it comes to designing a logo, especially since simple designs can be easier to remember than those that are complex. Although a fully-detailed logo design can be more attractive, it’s always best to keep it balanced. To do so, remember to use the right colors, shapes, and typefaces that can properly compliment each other.

Keep in mind, over-the-top designs won’t do you any favors! Illustrations and complicated details can be difficult to remember, it’s best to come up with a design that can easily paint a mental picture even at first glance.

4. Appropriate

When attempting to create a great business logo, you must consider the audience you are serving. The overall look of your logo has to reflect the industry you are in, as well as your target market. For instance, you can create a colorful logo design for a children’s toy store but you can’t do the same for a law firm. Otherwise, this can create confusion and a negative perception towards your company.

In the end, logos are deemed to be the first impression that you leave your target audience. Knowing this, it’s important to stay critical with every aspect of your design to make sure your logo can accurately represent your business.